Hey, all. I’m at Citi Field _ where I was fortunate enough to cover Monday’s first-ever game _ and tomorrow bright and early I’ll be back out at the historic opening of the new Yankee Stadium. But yesterday I was at the “topping off” of the stadium you guys care about: Red Bull Arena.

It was not only the first time Red Bull coach Juan Carlos Osorio had ever set foot in the building, but he says it was the first time he even LOOKED at it. So I guess he wasn’t watching the webcam like I know a lot of you were.

“I just decided that was the way I wanted to experience the stadium, just walk in and see what I feel,” Osorio said. And what exactly did he feel?

“I think it’s impressive. I think it’s going to be beautiful and it’s indeed the type of stadium the club has promised.”

When I asked what thing struck him about the stadium, he said “How close the fans will be to the ground. I think that’s the most important thing; the fans are so close they can really feel the support. It’s typical in European stadiums, its soccer specific and it’s going to be very good for everybody.”

Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna and Steve Jolley were all there, as were a slew of New Jersey politicos. And MLS commissioner Don Garber talked about both how personally moving it was for him and how important it was for the league.

“I was teary-eyed in Seattle, but this team is close to my heart because I live in the area, five or six miles from this stadium,” Garber said. “When I walked in here I got a little emotional. We worked really hard on this building, and it’s going to be fantastic. It’s going to take soccer facilities to a higher level. And it’ll give this team another bounce in its step.”

And Garber said a bounce in the step of the long-floundering New York team will put an extra bounce in the step of league.

“Boy, we need a strong team in the New York area,” Garber acknowledged. “We’ve been working hard to achieve that. With that we’ve come to realize that without having a great facility _ when particularly you’ve got Yankee Stadium and Citi Field opening up and the new Giants stadium _ it’s difficult to compete. But we’ll be able to compete now with Red Bull Arena.

“I think it’ll help this team capture some of the spirit it’s been seeking to regain from yesteryear, back to the days of the Cosmos and the early days of the MetroStars. It’s a step in the right direction…Red Bull ownership is the right partner for what we need to achieve him.

“We believe in their commitment to the sport. Certainly they’ve shown it in their pocket in their commitment to this facility, they have the best youth academy in major league soccer, Juan Pablo (Angel) is one of the best players this league has ever have. They’ve put all the right pieces in place. It’s hard…in a competitive market; I believe they’re going to get it right.”